Trusted Eye

Book excerpt: Perfect for enthusiasts of women's stories, postwar photo-journalism and art. This compelling narrative encompasses a mother's- and her daughter's-first-person accounts of struggle: the American wife finding her place in the rubble of battle-torn Germany, and the daughter relaying her version of the same story. Virginia Fontaine was brought up with all the moral fortitude of her Midwest German immigrant parents but also went against the norms by marrying an artist and agreeing to live in Germany in 1946. There, Virginia fought for her status as a problem solver, photographer, art curator, and correspondent of her experiences amid her ever-changing constellation of artists and friends who survived the war. Working with the military wasn't always easy either. In this part personal history, part art survey, readers are given a front-row seat to Virginia's artistic pursuits and cultivations as well as her resilience amid the challenges and times of postwar Europe.